2nd Grade Colonists and Modern Tools?!

As second graders establish their colonial families and village in the woods near campus, they will be harvesting crops from the TCS garden for different uses. But first, why not introduce some modern day tools and infuse some current science skills into colonial times?

Looking at plant cells under a microscope

Zeroing an electronic balance and pondering a tomatillo's weight in grams

How does a triple beam balance work and how can it help me think about mass and my harvest?

Hands-on, Relevant Science Work

6th grade Earth Science: Creating convection current models to understand what happens in Earth's mantle 

STEAM work in action: 4th graders preserving Long Island Sound specimens through science, art and the Japanese tradition of gyotaku fish printing

In 5th grade, Science and History Collide!

In Science, 5th graders are studying the fossil record, and, in History, they are learning how historians piece together the past. Stay tuned for some interesting STEAM collaborations ahead! 

Here are some process pictures from our fossil casting in Science class over the past few days:

Ask the 5th graders about 5 different types of fossils they've been studying!

Bushy Hill Adventures

The 4th and 5th graders had a great trip to Bushy Hill today! They learned survival skills like recognizing edible and useful plants and trees, making fire from friction and a bow drill, building a shelter and making cordage.

Leaf identification

Taking notes on leaf and tree characteristics

Fire making with Mr. Fixx

Building an all-weather debris huts using great teamwork

Cordage (rope) making from rafia palm fibers

Lessons from Miss Rumphius

The TCS 2nd graders read Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney for summer reading, and now they are ready to do their part to make the world "a more beautiful place"...starting with the TCS garden classroom! 

3rd and 4th Grade Field Work on Grass Island

It was a beautiful day for a field trip to Grass Island today! The 3rd and 4th graders spent the last few hours of summer and the first few hours of fall taking population samples of life in the intertidal zone, testing the salinity of the water and testing the water for phosphates, nitrates and nitrites.

We set up a salt water tank in the lab for more opportunities to observe and share our learning with others.

And we collected lots of interesting data...

Stay tuned for a collaborative mural in the cafeteria in which we will share our STEAM learning with the school community!

Robotics is off and Running!

We have a record turn out for robotics this year and are so excited! Here, the 4th and 5th grade members collaborate to build this year's missions, which all revolve around the theme "Animal Allies." 

Happy "New Year;" Welcome to the 2016-17 School Year!

This year I am very excited to be teaching science to first through sixth graders! I have been working this summer to set up Science Lab A to accommodate so many curious and eager science students. Stop by and see our new furniture, discovery center, animal friends and cool new technology! 

It has been a busy and exciting first few days in the lab...

This summer, the second graders read Barbara Cooney's book, Miss Rumphius, which is about one woman's quest to live a full life and make the world a more beautiful place by planting lupines for all to enjoy season after season. In science, our students examined false lupine (baptisia) seed pods to see how they could be collected, stored and spread in the future. 

The first graders will travel the world this year, across many continents and oceans, as water droplets that are part of our Earth's water cycle. Here are some ways the students appreciated and enjoyed water this summer!

We are excited to have a new 3D printer in the lab and look forward to printing models to represent lots of exciting learning ahead (not to mention just doing some fun tinkering!)

5th and 6th graders spent the first few days of science class discussing ways to set a positive and constructive tone for our learning environment in the year ahead. The students practiced collaboration and communication while explaining to a partner how to build a Lego model by listening to instructions but not peeking!

1st Graders in Antartica

What do Scientists study in Antartica?

Ask a first grader! They have been taking on the roles of geologists, marine biologists, climate scientists, astronomers and engineers, who live and work at the research stations on Antarctica.

Outlining the continent using a projection of a satellite image to make a relief map

3D map in progress

Navigating to Aftica

The second graders have been studying magnets and compasses as science tools that can help them navigate throughout their studies of Africa.

New Year's Catch Up

Yikes, the holiday frenzy got me and I am behind on my blog posts! Here is a quick overview of the last month in the Clark House STEAM Lab. It's so hard to capture all the excitement, discovery and learning, but, hopefully, this will give you a sense for some of it. 

Our decomposing pumpkins are really changing! The one on the ground is almost gone (except for the stem) and the one in the Kindergarten-designed "hammock" is quite moldy and squished (as demonstrated by Abby!)

Can you believe we were able to plant 60 bulbs in honor of the 60th birthday of TCS in short sleeves on December 10th?!

The 2nd graders compared natural dye color extracting methods used during colonial studies with more modern day techniques of chromatography. 

The PreKers did a fabulous job sharing all their learning and bridge building with parents and reading buddies in December. They drew and painted famous bridges from the Golden Gate to the Ponte Vecchio, built bridges from sticks, blocks, recyclables and construction manipulatives, read many books about bridges and bridge builders, and used iPad apps to learn how different forces act on bridges. They are truly bridge experts!

1st graders learned about the art and engineering of cuckoo clocks as part of their study of Germany and Europe. Here they construct models with birds that really "pop" out.

It was so fun to Skype with our 1st grade classmate, Nita, who is in Germany for the winter. She told us all about holiday and winter traditions in Germany and showed us around her "chalet" style house.

BIG NEWS! We have a new friend to learn about and take care of in the STEAM Lab! Meet Eowyn, the hedgehog. Here, the preschoolers observe her and make mini hedgehog models out of clay and toothpicks.

Kindergarteners are excited to be starting a STEAM study of building and architecture. They are great shape detectives, identifying shapes all around the TCS campus, and are learning the names of common and unusual shapes. Soon, they will incorporate their learning into some building and design challenges and will learn about several famous architects.

Love our curious and creative students! Happy 2016, everyone!